Mitt Romney did not crash a New Jersey wedding

Holly Bailey

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The Ticket•August 9, 2012

BOSTON—Mitt Romney, wedding crasher? Not quite.

On Wednesday, the Republican presidential candidate caused a media stir when his motorcade sped into the parking lot of Lake Terrace, a banquet hall in Lakewood, N.J., and appeared to disrupt an Orthodox Jewish wedding party posing for pictures outside the venue.

Reporters traveling with Romney, including this one, witnessed people standing near the bride and groom suddenly run away from the wedding party and chase Romney's motorcade hoping to catch a glimpse of the candidate.

But Lisa Ben-Haim, the mother of the groom, tells Yahoo News the family had been aware that Romney would be holding a fundraiser ahead of the wedding and said the people reporters saw chasing the candidate weren't affiliated with the actual wedding.

Ben-Haim, who described her family as "staunch supporters" of Romney, said she had been alerted "a week or so ago" that the GOP candidate would be at Lake Terrace at the same time as the wedding.

She confirmed that Romney popped into the wedding and posed for pictures with the bride and groom after he spoke at a fundraiser. She said the campaign had told the family Romney would be able to pose for just two photos, but the Republican presidential hopeful ended up lingering for longer than expected.

"We ended up taking many more, and we took videos," Ben-Haim said. "He was very gracious. And we were all telling him we were happy that he came to our wedding because we are all very strong, staunch supporters of his."

Ben-Haim said Romney's fundraiser did not cause any problems for the wedding.

"It was really wonderful," she said "It just topped off our wedding. … It was a nice surprise and something that we will remember forever. Everyone remembers their wedding but this was just even more special."